Related papers: Subtle is the Gravity
Theory of Relativity (Special and General) is one of the most influential theories of the 20th century and has changed the way we view the world. It is part of many undergraduate curriculums and it is often suggested that it should be…
I have been asked to write brief, gentle introduction to the basic idea behind the field of "quantum gravity" in 1500 words or less. Doing so appears to be almost as great a challenge as coming up with a consistent theory of quantum…
Gravity is one of the fundamental forces of Nature, and it is the dominant force in most astronomical systems. In common with all other phenomena, gravity must obey the principles of special relativity. In particular, gravitational forces…
Modified gravity theories have received increased attention lately due to combined motivation coming from high-energy physics, cosmology and astrophysics. Among numerous alternatives to Einstein's theory of gravity, theories which include…
There is no doubt that both the special and general theories of relativity capture the imagination. The anti-intuitive properties of the special theory of relativity and its deep philosophical implications, the bizzare and dazzling…
This paper provides a thorough introduction to the causal set hypothesis aimed at students, and other interested persons, with some knowledge of general relativity and nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. I elucidate the arguments for why the…
I describe the conceptual and mathematical basis of an approach which describes gravity as an emergent phenomenon. Combining principle of equivalence and principle of general covariance with known properties of local Rindler horizons,…
We show that if one starts with a Universe with some matter and a cosmological constant, then quantum mechanics naturally induces an attractive gravitational potential and an effective Newton's coupling. Thus gravity is an emergent…
This essay aims to summarize the main physical features arising from a new supersymmetric theory of gravitation. Based on preliminary discussions about classical field theory, cosmology, algebra and group theory, and taking formal results…
(from the talk:) I shall here speak on gravity in (1+1)-dimensional space-time --- lineal gravity. The purpose of studying lower dimensional theories, and specifically lower dimensional gravity, is to gain insight into difficult…
According to General Relativity gravity is the result of the interaction between matter and space-time geometry. In this interaction space-time geometry itself is dynamical: it can store and transport energy and momentum in the form of…
There has been a recent stimulus in the study of alternative theories of gravity lately, mostly triggered from combined motivation coming from cosmology/astrophysics and high energy physics. Among the proposed theories, one that has…
The interaction of (linearized) gravitation with matter is studied in the causal approach up to the second order of perturbation theory. We consider the generic case and prove that gravitation is universal in the sense that the existence of…
Gravity theories with non-minimally coupled scalar fields are used as characteristic examples in order to demonstrate the challenges, pitfalls and future perspectives of considering alternatives to general relativity. These lecture notes…
The space-time of modern physics is tailored on light. We rigorously construct the basic entities needed by kinematics: geometry of the physical space and time, using as tool electromagnetic waves, and particularly light-rays. After such a…
General relativity provides an appropriate framework for addressing the issue of sub- or superluminality as an apparent effect. Even though a massless particle travels on the light cone, its average velocity over a finite path measured by…
We review the special theory of relativity kinematics and dynamics as well as the general theory of relativity under the aspect of logic.
It is shown that the most important effects of special and general theory of relativity can be understood in a simple and straightforward way. The system of units in which the speed of light $c$ is the unit of velocity allows to cast all…
This document gathers the notes of a 30-hour review course on gravitation, which I delivered in January 2018 and January 2019 at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences of Cameroon (AIMS-Cameroon). Its main goal is to propose a big…
Einstein's general relativity is increasingly important in contemporary physics on the frontiers of both the very largest distance scales (astrophysics and cosmology) and the very smallest(elementary particle physics). This paper makes the…